CHICORA — Ashley Coon knew something was terribly wrong when she could not stand up without toppling over.

The room spun. Her balance wavered.

What followed was a nearly five-month ordeal that left the Karns City sophomore soccer and softball player scared, frustrated and sidelined.

It started late in the fall in a soccer game against Keystone when Coon and another girl collided. Coon slammed the back of her head off the ground, but thought nothing of it.

She was removed from the game as a precaution, but she didn't think it was serious.

“I've hit my head lots of times,” Coon said.

When she got home, the balance issues began. Doctors concluded she suffered a concussion that disrupted the balance center of her brain.

She suffered another mild concussion during indoor softball season this winter.

The injury had forced her to miss most of the Karns City softball season. She returned three games ago and has made a big impact.

Against Cranberry in the District 9 Class AA semifinals, Coon had three hits, including a triple, in the Gremlins' 9-7 win.

“We missed Ash the first three quarters of the season,” said Karns City coach Jim Gibson. “She's just getting back into the swing of things. She actually played a couple of games before she even practiced.”

Coon was immediately inserted into the cleanup spot upon her return.

“She's big. She was big for us last year,” Gibson said. “She's a hitter.”

There were times, though, when Coon doubted if she would make it back into the lineup at shortstop.

“It was so frustrating,” Coon said. “I had to take all these tests. I had to pass all these levels before I could be cleared. I had to do all this fitness stuff to get back.”

When Coon was finally cleared, she was ecstatic.

She also was uncertain about how she would play because of her long layoff.

“I hadn't really practiced at all,” Coon said. “I hadn't been out on the field with any of the other girls, so the first game I played, I was really nervous. But I was also very excited to be back.”

Coon, though, can't play without a disturbing thought creeping back into her head.

It's the fear of suffering another concussion and having to go through it all again.

“I'm a little gun shy,” Coon said. “I'm a little scared. I just have to overcome it and get back out there.”

Coon said she has done a lot of work on the side, throwing and hitting in her spare time.

Gibson said she is just now rounding into mid-season form. That bodes well as the Gremlins will play for a District 9 championship Wednesday.

“She's starting to come around,” Gibson said.

Coon, though, still has bouts with her balance issues. Sometimes, she said, she will get dizzy and fall over without warning.

“I definitely don't feel 100 percent just yet,” she said. “Honestly, I'm probably in the 70s.”

That is good enough for her, however. She wants to be on the field with her teammates.

“I'll just play through it,” she said. “I just have to be smart about it and know the signs and when to back off. The specialist in Pittsburgh gave me a scale of one-to-10 and as long as I'm lower than five I can play. I'm just happy I can play.”